Diving board apparatus having a diving board telescopically mounted in a support frame for compact portability

ABSTRACT

A portable diving board apparatus is described having a lightweight elongated frame which is attachable to a platform such as a dock or boat. The apparatus has a diving board slidably mounted in the frame for extending from either end of the frame. The board may be locked in the extended position.

United States Patent 1 1 Johnson Oct. 23, 1973 [54] DIVING BOARD APPARATUS HAVING A 3,282,378 11/1966 Pierce 182/223 X DIVING BOARD TELESCOPICALLY gy 1xs0n :83:22: LZQ I E FJ FRAME FOR 2,684,876 7/1954 Steneman 182/223 [76] Inventor: David L. Johnson, Pine Terrace ig lfi z r i f fz l rea r1 a1n Addlt'on Lake wash 535,254 12/1958 Belgium 182/223 [22] Filed: June 23, 1971 [211 App! Nod-155 719 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Arnold W. Kramer Attorney-Greek Well et al. [52] US. Cl. 272/66, 182/223, 182/223 [5 '1 Int. [58] Field of Search 272/66, 65, l B,

272/565 D 13/1]; 193/6; 52/118 A portable dlvmg board apparatus 1s descr1bed havmg 182,223 a l1ghtwe1ght elongated frame whlch 1s attachable to a platform such as a dock or boat. The apparatus has a 'dabl mounted in the frame for extend- [56] References Cited fhvmg boar? Sh y mg from e1ther end of the frame. The board may be UNITED STATES PATENTS locked in the extended position. 2,598,730 6/1952 Thompson et al 18 2/223 X 3,031,027 4 1962 Mitchell 182 223 x 7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1,126,087 1/1915 Rohmer 272/66 Patented Oct. 23, 1973 3,767,193

2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. 3

FIGQ

DIVING BOARD APPARATUS HAVING A DIVING BOARD TELESCOPICALLY MOUNTED IN A SUPPORT FRAME FOR COMPACT PORTABILITY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Generally, the diving board is rather rigidly fixed inplace having a forward end that extends outwardly over a body of water to enable a person to dive into the water spaced from the bank or side of a pool without the fear of diving intoshallow water. A diving board has a characteristic of being somewhat resilient to enable a person to jump up and down on one end while the other end is fixed to propel the person somewhat like a projectile upward and over the body of water.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a portable diving board apparatus that has a very light weight and can be carried easily by one person and affixed to a variety of various types ofplatforms.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a portable diving board apparatus having a diving board contained therein that is extendible from a storage or carrying position in which the apparatus can be easily transported to an extended position for use forrecreational purposes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a portable diving board apparatus that is very simplein construction and can be manufactured at a price that is within the means of the person having less than an average income.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a portable diving board apparatus that can be utilized on a multitude of platforms including boats, rafts, docks and the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide a portable diving board apparatus that can be moved from the platform during the winter and stored in a convenient manner. I

An additional object of this invention is to provide a portable diving board apparatus having a diving board that can be extended from either end of the apparatus to provide considerable versatility.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon the reading of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a portable divingboard apparatus embodying the principal features of this invention in which the apparatus is mounted on a platform such as a dock;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end elevational view of the diving board apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the diving board apparatus;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal crosssectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 showing the board in a storage position;

FIG. 5 is a vertical longitudinal cross-sectional view similar toFIG. 4, except showing the diving board in an extended position;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 1 except showing the apparatus mounted on a boat; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a bracket mounted on a side of a boat for receiving one end of the diving board apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a portable diving board apparatus generally designated by the numeral 10 for mounting on a platform 1 1. The platform 11 may be a variety of structures including a dock, a boat, a side of a swimming pool and the like. For purpose of illustration, a movable platform in the nature of a boat 12 is illustrated in FIG. 7 and a dock 13 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The purpose of the portable diving board apparatus is to be mounted to the platform 11 so that the person may utilize the diving board to jump into a body of water 14 adjacent to the platform. The boat 12 has two sides 15 and I6 having top gunnel surfaces 18 and 19 respectively.

The portable diving board apparatus 10 has an elongated frame 22 that is constructed of lightweight material such as aluminum and is portable, enabling one person to carry the apparatus. The elongated frame 22 includes a tubular member 23 forming parallel U- shaped side channels 24 and 25 that face each other. In cross-section, the tubular member has a top 26, sides 28 and bottom lips 27. The member 23 has ends 30 and 31.. The elongated frame 22 includes an upper shelf 34 anda lower shelf 35 (FIGS. 4 and 5) that are spaced apart to form an elongated cavity 56 therebetween. The elongated cavity has end openings 57 and 58 adjacent the end 30 and 31 respectively. The upper shelf 34 is defined by the top 26. The lower shelf 35 is constructed by a plurality of transverse members 47-52 extending between the side channels 24 and 25.

Each of the transverse members 47-52 are constructed of tubular spacers 60 that extend between the side channels 24 and 25 and tie rods that extend through the side channels 24 and 25 and through the tubular spacer 60 to secure the spacers 50 firmly to the sides 28 to form the lower shelf and provide additional rigidity.

The portable diving borad apparatus 10 has means 65 for securing the elongated frame 22 to the platform I I.

The means includes holes 66 and 67 formed in the side 28 adjacent the ends 30 and 31 respectively. The means 65 further includes U-shaped brackets 70 and 71 that are secured to the platform adjacent the ends 30 and 31. Each of the brackets 70 and 71 has a flat body element 72 that is secured to the surfaces 18 and 19 (FIG. 7). Each of the brackets 70 and 71 have spaced flanges 74 and 75 that are upstanding and project upward along the sides 28 of the side channels 24 and 25. Holes 76 (FIG. 2) are formed in the flanges 74 and 75 for alignment with the holes 66 and 67. A nonslip material 78 (FIG. 2) is secured to the flat body section 72 to enable the brackets 70 and 71 to be utilized as steps, when not in use. Securing pins 80 extend through the holes 76 and the holes 66 and 67 to releasably secure the elongated frame 22 to the brackets 70 and 71 adjacent both ends 30 and 31. Each pin 80 has an enlarged end 81 and a locking end 82. The locking end 82 includes a pivotal section 83 that pivots about a pivot point 84 so that when the pin is extended through the flanges 74 and 75 the pivot end 83 will deflect downwardly to prevent inadvertent removal of the pin. A plurality of longitudinally spaced holes 66 and 67 are provided to be able to conviently mount the frame on a wide variety of platforms.

The portable diving board apparatus further includes an elongated diving board 86 that is slidably mounted in the elongated cavity 56 between the upper shelf 34 and the lower shelf 35. The diving board 86 has ends 87 and 88. The diving board can be constructed of a variety of materials or a combination of laminated materials to provide the desired strength and resilience.

As shown in the drawings, the portable diving board apparatus is quite versatile in that the diving board may be moved from a storage position illustrated in FIG. 4 to an extended position shown in FIG. 5. The board 86 may be slid in either direction to extend either end from the openings 57 and 58 respectively.

The portable diving borad apparatus further includes a locking means for locking the diving board to the elongated frame at either the storage position or at the extended positions. The locking means includes end holes or apertures 90 formed in the ends 87 and 88. Corresponding holes 92 are formed in the side channels 24 and to align with one of the end holes 90 when the diving board is extended. A similar set of holes 93 are formed in the side channels 24 and 25 to align with one end of the end holes 90 or 91 when the diving board is in the storage position. A pin 95 is extendible through the locking holes to hold the diving board in the respective position.

A handle 97 is mounted to the frame 22 equally spaced between the ends and 31 to enable a person to conveniently carry the diving boards apparatus when not in use. High friction material 98 may be applied to the top 26 to prevent persons from slipping on the frame. As shown in FIG. 3, the ends 30 and 31 have indentations 100 and 101 respectively formed in the top 26 to enable the user to grip the ends of the board when the board is in the storage position and pull the desired end outward to the extended position.

To remove the frame 22 from the boat, one merely pulls the pins 80 and lifts the frame 22 by the handle 97. Generally, the brackets 70 and 71 are left on the platform after the frame is removed. FIG. 8 shows the bracket 70 left on the side of a boat. The bracket 70 may be used as-a step to enable persons to step into and out of the boat without maring the gunnel surface 18. As previously mentioned, the brackets 70 and 71 may be provided with a layer 78 of non-skid material.

It should be understood that the above described embodiment is simply illustrative of the principles of the invention and that numerous other embodiments may be readily devised by those skilled in the art without deviating therefrom. Therefore, only the following claims are intended to define the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable recreation diving board apparatus for mounting on a platform adjacent a body of water, comprising:

a substantially flexible diving board; 5 an elongated lightweight substantially rigid tubular frame having substantially the same length as the diving board with an elongated cavity formed therein, opening at least at one end slidably receiving the diving board therein to enable the diving board to be moved between a storage position with the board substantially enclosed by the frame and an operable position with one end of the board remaining in the cavity and the other end extending from the open end of the frame; said diving board and frame being sufficiently lightweight to be readily carried by a normal person when the board is in the storage position;

mounting means for releasably securing the elongated frame rather rigidly to the platform with the extended end of the diving board extending over the body of water to enable a person to jump up and down on the extended end and dive therefrom into the body of water; and

position locking means for affixing the diving board in the operable position.

2. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the elongated cavity is opened at both ends of the elongated portable frame in which the diving board is slidable in either direction to project either end from the frame.

3. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the frame has two parallel elongated side channels facing each other with two spaced shelves interconnecting the channels along the length of the channels with the diving board slidably mounted between the spaced shelves and between the facing channels.

4. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein one of the shelves members includes tubular spacers extending transversely between the channels at spaced longitudinal locations and tie rods extending through the tubular spacers and the side channels to secure the channels to the spacers.

5. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for affixing the diving board in the operable position includes a pin receiving hole formed through the one end of the diving board and a pin receiving hole formed in the frame that is aligned with the diving board hole when the board is in the operative position and a removable pin for extending through the pin receiving holes to releasably secure the diving borad in the operable position.

6. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for releaseably securing the elongated frame includes end brackets releasably secured to the ends of the elongated frame for attachment to the platform.

7. The portable recreation diving board as defined in claim 1, further comprising a handle means attached to the frame for facilitating the carrying of the apparatus. x 

2. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the elongated cavity is opened at both ends of the elongated portable frame in which the diving board is slidable in either direction to project either end from the frame.
 3. The diving board apparatus as definEd in claim 1 wherein the frame has two parallel elongated side channels facing each other with two spaced shelves interconnecting the channels along the length of the channels with the diving board slidably mounted between the spaced shelves and between the facing channels.
 4. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein one of the shelves members includes tubular spacers extending transversely between the channels at spaced longitudinal locations and tie rods extending through the tubular spacers and the side channels to secure the channels to the spacers.
 5. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for affixing the diving board in the operable position includes a pin receiving hole formed through the one end of the diving board and a pin receiving hole formed in the frame that is aligned with the diving board hole when the board is in the operative position and a removable pin for extending through the pin receiving holes to releasably secure the diving board in the operable position.
 6. The diving board apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for releaseably securing the elongated frame includes end brackets releasably secured to the ends of the elongated frame for attachment to the platform.
 7. The portable recreation diving board as defined in claim 1, further comprising a handle means attached to the frame for facilitating the carrying of the apparatus. 